“The Creation is Waiting for Us?”

(Romans 8:12-25)

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh to
live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh,
you will die; bur if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the
body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are
children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall
back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we
cry Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that
we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation
waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for
the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the
will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom
of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation
has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation,
but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Sprit, groan
inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For
in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who
hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait
for it with patience.

There is an expression that we hear a lot and probably use a lot as
well. We speak of something as a done deal, as though it’s finished
while we speak about it or even before. Sometimes this is a good
thing, as in, we are glad that it is happening. And there are times
when it may not be so good, as in “Hey, nobody consulted me on this.
It was a done deal that you threw in my lap!”

Anyway, some things are just–done-deals. There’s nothing else
that needs to be done. It’s finished, and that’s all we need to
say. It seems to me that the subject of salvation is treated that way
sometimes. Some of us waited for this one moment in our lives when we
could be sure that we had accepted Christ as our Savior, and, then, we
boxed it up, put a lid on it, dated it, set it on the shelf, and we
bring out the details whenever we need to show our credentials—and
it’s a done deal.

It seems that we also fuss and worry about those around us—making
sure that their salvation is a done deal also. Please know that I am
speaking in generalities here, and exaggerating a bit, too, to make my
point. But I think we also, then, continue with life as though
there’s nothing needed beyond that moment of “getting saved.”
It’s as though we have this status of “saved,” and we needn’t
fuss with our relationship with God anymore. It’s a done deal.

The other thing I think we do is to operate as if the only important
thing about salvation—or being saved—is that each individual’s
heart is changed. And, sometimes, that ends up meaning, rather than a
transformation of the whole person, a one-time experience that fits
with a certain church’s expectations, and, then… don’t worry
about it, it’s a done deal.

We’ve allowed ourselves to forget that, because of Christ’s
life, death and resurrection, God expects ALL of creation to be saved.
All of God’s creation is waiting, and none of us can speak about a
done deal until that wait is over, says Paul.

Many times the Apostle Paul and his letters have been used to
support our kind of privatized and narrow view of salvation, but
today’s lesson would suggest a very different picture. “For you do
not receive a timid, grave-tending life to fall back into fear, but
you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, Abba, Father
(Daddy), it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that
we ALL are children of God.”

When a child is adopted, she or he is not only adopted for a couple
of hours a day or only when they are behaving or having an important
thought. Every bit of the person is adopted, accepted by the adoptive
parents, for all time.

So it is, as people adopted by God. It is not just our
decision-making mechanism that is accepted by God. It is not just our
good-intentioned self, well-behaved self. It is also our rebellious
part, our part that struggles with walking with God everyday, the part
of us that might make the done-deal of salvation seem like a lie. God
knows all of that about all of us, yet still takes us in, still adopts
us.

And even while we are continuing to struggle with all that makes us
human, all that keeps us on our merry-go-round of busy-ness, of
sometimes too self-centered, sometimes frightened–even while we’re
doing our thing, we still belong to God. It simply is not to be that
once we are saved, it’s a done-deal, and we’ll never question
again, we’ll never be confused again, we’ll never get depressed or
angry or resentful again or we’ll never get in trouble again.

Paul tells us, “Likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness; for
we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit
intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” This is not a God who
stands with arms crossed, waiting for us to dot every I and cross
every T, to get it just right before we’re assured of salvation.
No–this is the Spirit of a God who helps us in our weakness (our
INEVITABLE) weakness), a God who intercedes with sighs too deep for
words… (talk about that–a heavy sigh, a moment to reset, a breath
that goes deep within us that allows us to reach down and find our
best self. So when God heaves a sigh too deep for words, God is
waiting for us to find our best self).

And you know already that God’s sighs are not for us alone, for
each individual, but they are for all of creation, for our world, for
our earth, for all of God’s creatures. God cares that we each are
saved, and God cares that the world is saved, for “creation waits
with eager longing, creation has been groaning in labor pains.” All
of creation, all of us are longing to be living in a state of
redemption, of being recipients of God’s grace and mercy, of the
assurance of our status as children of God.

We and our world are not yet free of the destructive powers that
keep us from realizing our full potential—ours as individuals, and
ours as the human race. We will never be totally free of them. You
know that in your own life. You know it about our world today, for
sure.

…I don’t know about you, but I go through these cycles in which
I am really connected with God. Everything I do and think is grounded
in that which grounds me, that is God. My prayer time finds me really
in touch and at peace. I am loving and accepting in my relationships,
and I am able to turn over to God the cares and worries that I can’t
do a thing about. I am at peace. This isn’t just a matter of the ups
and downs of my temperament or when things are going well for me. It
is about those times when I’m really feeling close to God,
regardless of what goes on in my life.

And there are those times in which I am not so close to God. I
can’t seem to trust—people OR God. I am negative and kind of
depressed. I have trouble making that close connection with God. I’m
finding ways to avoid quiet time and prayer time. I feel unhappy and
unsettled, confused and I don’t have any focus.

I think these are the times when, in spite of how we’re feeling,
we need to be assured of God’s transforming power and that it will
be real to us again–in time.

Salvation is NOT a done deal, but it is an ongoing process, an
assurance that God will never leave our side, even in our weakness,
ESPECIALLY in our weakness. And while we’re suffering, while we’re
lost, in the midst of our confusion, God is heaving sighs too deep for
words.

God is not simply concerned about our individual salvation. God
suffers as the divisions in our nation and world grow wider and more
controversial, as women are treated as inferior here and abroad, as
children are used in sweat shops, as they are mowed down in their own
neighborhoods, as they’re not receiving the love and attention that
helps them grow strong and healthy in body, mind and spirit.

God groans as wars continue, as we choose not to deal with the
climate crisis because it might cost some money or cause us some
inconvenience; God groans as hatred drives legislators in our state
houses to exclude brown and black voters; God groans as hatred toward
certain politicians takes over our minds and our spirits. God groans
as our individual behavior and our corporate behavior destroy and
counteract God’s saving action.

Folks, there is no way our salvation can be a done-deal as long as
all of creation waits with eager longing for the day of the
Lord—when all people will live in harmony.

We all have a part to play in this. We need to keep our hearts and
spirits clear of hatred and grudges. We need to work to form the Jesus
House, the Kingdom of Heaven. More specifically, we need to elect
people who want only the best for our world.

You see, God wants the world, not only individual souls, God wants,
not just us, but the whole world to be living in the hope that Jesus
has brought us. So, we’re living in the now, in the assurance that
we are God’s children with all our strengths and weaknesses. And, we
are living in the not-yet. So there is hope, not just for you and me
and the likes of us, but for our world. Between the now and the
not-yet is where our responsibility lies, our contribution to setting
ourselves and all of creation free of that which keeps us separated
from our Abba, our Parent God.

Here’s the thing: God wants it all. God isn’t satisfied with
having just part of a person while the rest struggles and resists.
God is not going to be satisfied with one portion of this world or the
universe. God wants us all. This is salvation. This is God. This is us
as the children of God.

So let’s no longer pretend like we have it all together but,
rather, work together to form a community that celebrates being
children of God by welcoming all, not by gating ourselves off into the
“Christian” world and overlooking those we deem not Christian.

The creation is groaning with labor pains because we know that God
wants to bring forth the Kingdom of Heaven, God wants to look at us
and see the Jesus House, the Body of Christ.

Now, let’s give thanks to God that, even in our weakness, we can
know that we’re loved and accepted and known. Let that love and
acceptance and knowledge lead us both inward and beyond ourselves. Let
that love and acceptance care for our own needs and those of our
family as well as care for the world. Because God is heaving sighs too
deep for words until all creation is reached, until hope is alive for
every person, where hope is alive for our whole world. In a bit we
will celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We will, in this place, make real
the Body of Christ so that we can go forth and make it real in the
world. Amen